Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely splendid!!!!!
Review: The Rowan is a fabulous book. I have read it 6 times and recommended it to my friends who in turn thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to anybody who wants to read the best book in the galaxy.
Sincerely, Karen Hope
Rating: 
Summary: Diverting
Review: The Rowan is highly captivating - her character was extremely well done. It's especially nice when a novel is so well immersed in interesting details rather than boring backtalk - you can almost visualize the little personality quirks of each character. This is probably my favorite among all of Anne McCaffrey's novels. I've read Damia, Damia's Children and Lyon's Pryde in this series but the Rowan remains the one I would most highly praise.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE this book!!!
Review: The Rowan is my favorite science fiction book of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've read it. I own three copies, a new paperback, a paperback that's falling apart and a hardcover that took me forever to find. There is something about this book(indeed, about all Anne McCaffrey books)that reaches out and grabs you and makes you think, Oh, why can't I just leap into this book and meet those people!The book is set sometime in the future and humankind has spread out into space with the aid of the Talented, people with incredible mental abilities, like telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance. The Rowan was the victim of a terrible accident as a child and a whole planet heard her telepathic cries for help. She has the potential to be the most powerful Prime Talent ever. As she grows into her amazing abilities, she grows away from others. She discovers that her powers isolate her from everyone around her. One evening, a telepathic distress call from an unknown Talent of Prime ability shakes her whole universe. And that's how she meets Jeff Raven, a charismatic young man from distant Deneb. The Rowan stands beside him against a mysterious alien threat to his planet and realizes she never wants to leave him, that she loves him, and he will move solar systems to have her in his arms. These characters are wonderful! The romance between the Rowan and Jeff Raven is so touching, yet it is written in such a way that it's not too sweet. It's practical and forthright, a wonderful narrative. And let's not forget gruff Reidinger and gentle Afra and Rascal, supporting characters that make the book what it is. I've read the entire series and not one measures up to this one. If I could, I would beg Anne McCaffrey not to end it with The Tower and the Hive, which I think is the last. The Rowan is the book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer. Read it. Read it many times and find in it what I've found. It's a wonderful story.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE this book!!!
Review: The Rowan is my favorite science fiction book of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've read it. I own three copies, a new paperback, a paperback that's falling apart and a hardcover that took me forever to find. There is something about this book(indeed, about all Anne McCaffrey books)that reaches out and grabs you and makes you think, Oh, why can't I just leap into this book and meet those people! The book is set sometime in the future and humankind has spread out into space with the aid of the Talented, people with incredible mental abilities, like telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance. The Rowan was the victim of a terrible accident as a child and a whole planet heard her telepathic cries for help. She has the potential to be the most powerful Prime Talent ever. As she grows into her amazing abilities, she grows away from others. She discovers that her powers isolate her from everyone around her. One evening, a telepathic distress call from an unknown Talent of Prime ability shakes her whole universe. And that's how she meets Jeff Raven, a charismatic young man from distant Deneb. The Rowan stands beside him against a mysterious alien threat to his planet and realizes she never wants to leave him, that she loves him, and he will move solar systems to have her in his arms. These characters are wonderful! The romance between the Rowan and Jeff Raven is so touching, yet it is written in such a way that it's not too sweet. It's practical and forthright, a wonderful narrative. And let's not forget gruff Reidinger and gentle Afra and Rascal, supporting characters that make the book what it is. I've read the entire series and not one measures up to this one. If I could, I would beg Anne McCaffrey not to end it with The Tower and the Hive, which I think is the last. The Rowan is the book that convinced me I wanted to be a writer. Read it. Read it many times and find in it what I've found. It's a wonderful story.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Read. Romance Difficult to believe
Review: The Rowan is the tale of an orphan girl, who has grown up on an Alien world in the care of her mentor, a cantankerous older woman named Seglenn. (I have listened to the audio version of this book, so please forgive me if the character names are not spelled exactly right). Both Seglenn and the Rowan are high-capacity telikinetics, capable of moving freight from one sector of the galaxy to another. The Rowan is a difficult child, incredibly independent, self-centered, and opinionated. She is constantly at loggerheads with her mentor Seglenn, over procedure and protocol. Nevertheless, she is an altruistic child, who shoulders the burden of her responsibilities quite well, (even though in my opinion she never really treats Seglenn very well). While I enjoyed "The Rowan," I found several things to be quite unrealistic. First, Rowan's romantic involvements, (Tourian), and second with Jeff Raven. Both romances were 'love at first sight' type situations which seems to work out exactly as SHE intended. I mean Hello? Girl, tell me your secret, because in real life, things never seem to work out EXACTLY the way you want! I found it difficult to believe someone as intelligent and as self-centered as The Rowan would fall so IMMEADIATLY and totally in love in a matter of hours. The Rowan went from Fiercely independent to Fiercely co-dependant in a matter of weeks. Hard to believe. Second, I was disappointed that the Rowan, was almost super-human. I found it hard to believe that a girl who was sheltered, sedentary, would be so much better at everything than the other characters. (Prettier, Smarter, Etc.). And why couldn't these people with such obvious telikinetic abilities use these abilities to make childbirth a heck of a lot easier by just zapping the child out of the womb? I just couldn't figure this one out. Also, while I am not really opposed to romance in my sci-fi, I could've done without the excessive rhapsodizing about the 'joys of motherhood' towards the end. Overall, a light, entertaining read with a lot of 'fairy-tale' qualities and happily-ever after elements, that will appeal to most readers, even though some more Jaded readers might be rolling their eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so great :(
Review: Things were really looking good until I reached the moment when The Rowan meets Jeff Raven. Everything seemed well put together and left me amazed at the psychic powers of such as T1s. From then on, it became a 2 dimensional, simplistic love story I expect to see in books I don't usually go out to buy. Read for the first part, then skip, as I did, the overbearing love statements and the continual bitching, and find out how easily and uninterestingly the heroes tackle a bug invasion. 4 stars for the first part, 2 for the last. But I haven't read the next in the series. I wonder if I should ?
Rating:
Summary: one of the best books I have read
Review: This book had me enthrawled from beginning to end. I enjoyed it so much that when my 23 year son asked me did I have a book he could read I passed it on to him, he enjoyed it so much he read the rest of the Tower and Hive series, and for him that was a first he usually gets bored after the first book so if you haven't read it, try it for yourself I won't spoil your read by recounting the storyline
Rating:
Summary: Interesting premise, banal story
Review: This book is OK read; but what it really lacked was tension. Perhaps someone evil to pit the heros against.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: This book is one of my favorites of all time. I recommend it to everyone of all ages. It has a good story line and the sequels are excellent also.
Rating:
Summary: This book is tuely a work of art and should be read by all.
Review: This book is one of the best i have ever read! It caught and held me from the beginning. I wasn't able to put it down until i finished and i want to read more of it!
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